Can't get this question out of my head!

[becca81]

Yes i know what evolution is, they teach it in every school in the US. But how can u say that i can choose to believe in it or not, but if i don't than i'm ignorant? Also please share some examples, i'm curious.

Remember that ignorant does not mean stupid. It means uneducated and is not a necessarily deragatory term.

I personally am ignorant of many things, but I'm not stupid. I don't pretend to know everything (or, perhaps, anything) about science, but I'm not completely ignorant of the subject. If you have chosen to ignore a part of the scientific community due to a conflict of belief, then you are ignorant to the theory, not stupid or anything of the like.

 

[Mattyb]

Pretty much what Troy said.

Matty - you can't argue with this:
Let's say that there are 5 different species of tarantua in one region. Three of these species are very docile, calm, stay mainly on the ground, etc. Two of the species are very fast, able to climb or burrow extensively, and use their bite (including venom) readily.

If there predators in that region are relatively fast, are unable to climb (or dig) much, etc., then the species that has the best chance of surviving are the two that are fast, etc. The other three species may very well become extinct. This is evolution through natural selection.

It doesn't really matter if someone agrees or disagrees with evolution. The "theory" is alive in the scientific community and provides tangible evidence. Evolution is not just something that was "thought up."

Well it was just thought up by Charles Darwin. I do believe that if one species is faster and stronger than the other then it has a better chance to survive.


-Mattyb

 

[becca81]

Well it was just thought up by Charles Darwin.

Seriously, for your own benefit, I highly suggest you do some reading and research regarding evolution. You may be surprised that it's not all about the stereotypes that are readily thrown around.

Also, it's not like Darwin was sitting on his couch, eating Cheetos and watching Springer and one day sat up and said, "I think all this stuff around me has become what it is through evolution..."

I do believe that if one species is faster and stronger than the other then it has a better chance to survive.

...which means that you agree with evolution through natural selection

"Evolution" is not an evil word, no matter how many religious organizations use it as such.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Well it was just thought up by Charles Darwin. I do believe that if one species is faster and stronger than the other then it has a better chance to survive.


-Mattyb

Firstly, he didn't just grab that out of thin air; and secondly the theory of evolution hasn't stopped evolving with Darwin but has grown and become substatiated since then. Remember that DNA also can be seen as "written down" history of what kind of animals have common anscestry in what kind of other animal. So what has been theorized about because the morphology is similar between some animals is on it's way to get proven from the completly different direction of view - via DNA. So if several things point in the same direction and non into any other you can rather certainly say that you have proof.

I do believe that if one species is faster and stronger than the other then it has a better chance to survive.

That's partly what Darwin was rambling on about so I don't understand where your disbelief comes from :?

 

[Mattyb]

Seriously, for your own benefit, I highly suggest you do some reading and research regarding evolution. You may be surprised that it's not all about the stereotypes that are readily thrown around.

Also, it's not like Darwin was sitting on his couch, eating Cheetos and watching Springer and one day sat up and said, "I think all this stuff around me has become what it is through evolution..."



...which means that you agree with evolution through natural selection

"Evolution" is not an evil word, no matter how many religious organizations use it as such.

no no no, i believe in survival of the fittest, but there is much more to evolution that that. survival of the fittest is common sense. i don't believe that monkey's turned into humans, and that dinosaurs turned into birds and stuff like that.


-Mattyb

 

[Cirith Ungol]

i don't believe that monkey's turned into humans, and that dinosaurs turned into birds and stuff like that.
-Mattyb

This depends a little what you mean by birds and monkeys.
It's not as if the anscestor of Homo sapiens was a common chimp or as if a T-rex turned into a dove.

You have to take in account that everything happened over an extremely long time, that there were loads of stages between different forms and morphs of one type of animal.

Also, think about it from the opposite side, what can birds have come from if not from other animals that were there before them and which were partially similar to them? Think of it, Archeopteryx
(http://www.bartleby.com/86/0701.html
http://www.baystatereplicas.com/images/pic_archeopteryx.jpg)
was still quite lizardlike, it had teeth instead of a sharp beak, had claws at the tips of its wings wich were rather stubby in comparison to modern birds. It could hardly fly but was with that bodydesign only able to jump and glide for some distance.

So it didn't all happen over night and in one go.

 

[Heartfang]

I think I've created a monster.

 

[moricollins]

no, you asked a perfectly reasonable question, got reasonable answers, which some people did not agree with out of principle...

 

[Sheri]

Evolution has much to do with temperment? Well sorry becca but i don't believe in evolution, so that shouldn't be an issue in any of the threads since it is a theory.
-Mattyb

Well... I don't believe in the stars at night, yet there they are just the same.

And by your statement am I to assume then that you do not wish to discuss one single thing that is merely a theory! Great! We'll have 2 threads in this forum every month! It will make for much easier monitoring!

 

[Heartfang]

Just for the record I am athiest and I DO believe in evolution, so I am taking into account that evolution is/did happen. So keep the ideas and thoughts coming.

 

[TroyMcClureOG82]

no no no, i believe in survival of the fittest, but there is much more to evolution that that. survival of the fittest is common sense. i don't believe that monkey's turned into humans, and that dinosaurs turned into birds and stuff like that.


-Mattyb

The process of natural selection is in essence survival of the fittest. Overtime this can cause a particular organism to drastically change. As time goes on and the process of natural selection persists; this may lead to a new species.

What many if not most people who do not study science do not realize is that the process of natural selection requires VARIATION. Variation is the key to the whole process. If there is no variation within the species then natural selection can not exist. A particular variation may be favorable to certain environmental conditions and therefore thrive while another may not. Variation amongst members of the same species can come in many different forms including pigmentation, random genetic mutations, etc. A species can not just change to better suit the environment. The variation must exists and then the process of natural selection can start.

 

[Mattyb]

has anyone ever read Darwin's book? he even says in his book that there is scientific evidence of evolution.



-Mattyb

 

[Sheri]

has anyone ever read Darwin's book? he even says in his book that there is scientific evidence of evolution.



-Mattyb

I've just started reading it as of a couple weeks ago.

 

[Windchaser]

has anyone ever read Darwin's book? he even says in his book that there is scientific evidence of evolution.



-Mattyb

So what exactly are you trying to say? You seem to be arguing both for and against evolution. Also, you are not providing any detail or specifics for your "alternative" theory.

If you don't believe in evolution, or that birds are descendents of dinosaurs, then how do you explain the similarity in DNA?

 

[David Burns]

has anyone ever read Darwin's book? he even says in his book that there is scientific evidence of evolution.-Mattyb

Yes, evolution is a theory. Science is just a bunch of theories. Science acknowledges that at any time one theory can usurp another by disproving the first theory. That is one of the beautiful things about science, it is not arrogant enough to say that this or that is the final truth. It keeps an open mind.

That doesn't mean that we cannot discuss why different Ts have different defensive responses. I personally believe that their behavior has been determined over time by their environment, including predators. Human have only been recording data for a short time when compared with the millions of years that have gone before. So the current environment, including predators, may be only 1000s of years old. This may not give a us a long enough view to make accurate assumtions in this area. But it is interesting to speculate.

 

[Snipes]

the reason why it is a theory is because we cannot observe it. It is a process that takes longer than we can observe in a lifetime so therefore it is a theory.

 

[becca81]

So what exactly are you trying to say? You seem to be arguing both for and against evolution. Also, you are not providing any detail or specifics for your "alternative" theory.

If you don't believe in evolution, or that birds are descendents of dinosaurs, then how do you explain the similarity in DNA?

I'm a bit confused, too. :?

As for Origin of the Species, I've read it, although it's been about 5 or 6 years.

 

[TroyMcClureOG82]

has anyone ever read Darwin's book? he even says in his book that there is scientific evidence of evolution.



-Mattyb

He recanted that on his deathbed

 

[FryLock]

the reason why it is a theory is because we cannot observe it. It is a process that takes longer than we can observe in a lifetime so therefore it is a theory.

In most cases this is true, however change can be seen taking place to some level in some cases in inverts such as Drosophila.sp, many things cannot be proved 100% without any doubt at all but if more evidence points to say A then B then A's taken to be the better bet.

 

[Steve Nunn]

Matty B.,
Do you believe in Creationism?? (is that how it is spelt,LOL)

Because I don't mind if your spiritual, in any form, good for you if you are, doesn't matter to me. But I do believe now that many religions are working together with scientists to better understand from both perspectives, with good results I hear. In fact things are changing rapidly I believe.

I believe in evolution, there is no question for me personally.

I respect that you stand up for your belief

And it's nice not to see any nasty comments seeping in when there is no place for them, good show.

Cheers,
Steve